There are various aspects of the food processing industry wherein food is treated with a liquid. For example, conventional practices include treating muscle groups and flesh from animals, beef, pork, poultry and fish with liquids which contain bacteria controls, cures, flavorings and various binders and enhancers. Liquid recovered from such food treatment frequently contains particles resulting from such treatment. These particles prevent efficient recycling of the return liquid, as for reuse in an injector, and reduce the green weight value if not returned.
The presence of particulate material in a return liquid is particularly problematic in food treating systems containing injection devices for injecting various types of liquids into bodies of meat through needles. Such liquids are built on formulations made up of various ingredients, but based primarily on water. Depending on the particular application, these basic solutions may contain additional components such as sugar, flavorings, anti-microbial additives, starches and proteins. The solutions are typically employed for curing, marinating or yield improvement. Conventional practices comprise injecting such a solution into a body of meat through needles under pressure. A certain amount of solution that is not injected into the meat usually exits the injection device and is referred to as a return solution. Typically, because of the mechanical nature of the injection device, a percentage of solid particulate material from the body of meat undergoing treatment is carried away with the return solution. When the size of the particles in the return solution exceeds the opening of the needles, the return solution cannot be recycled for injection into bodies of meat. Conventional solutions to this problem involve removing such solid materials to prevent needle plugging, thereby improving efficiency and effectiveness of the injection device.
Conventional practices comprise recirculating the return solution between the injection device and a solution holding tank in proximility thereto. Screening filters and separators are placed within or about the tank. These filters and separators remove particles, which are discarded. Conventional practices further include the addition of finer filters on the feed side of the injection device to eliminate fine particles that may have passed through the screening device. The needle injectors typically have small needle openings, such as from about 0.10 mm to about 5.0 mm in diameter, e.g., about 0.50 mm to about 2.0 mm.
Conventional approaches, however, result in the expenditure of considerable resources to maintain the screens and filters during injection and during cleaning periods. Most food processing operations still suffer needle plugging and injector problems, as well as yield loss due to solids that are removed from the product during injection. In addition, there are additional costs incurred for treating or disposing the removed solids.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved methods for treating food with liquids by reducing or eliminating filtration of the return solution while simultaneously improving yield. There exists a particular need for methodology and systems to prevent needle plugging in injection devices employed to inject a return solution into bodies of meat.